Jarome Iginla’s full name is as lengthy and glorious as his hockey career. Jarome Arthur-Leigh Adekunle Tig Junior Elvis Iginla, a six-time NHL all-star and first-year Avalanche right wing, is a two-time Memorial Cup champion who helped Canada capture gold medals at every international level, including twice at the Olympics.
His 560 career NHL goals rank 25th all time, and he and Jaromir Jagr are the only active scorers in the 500 club.
Raised in St. Albert, Alberta, by his Nigerian-born father, Adekunle — a lawyer who changed his name to Elvis upon moving to Canada — and Oregon-born mother Susan, a music teacher, Iginla has an unusual story. Who else has the initials of JALATJEI and is as approachable and friendly as Mr. Rogers?
And who else can produce 30 goals as age 40 approaches? Iginla, 37, was among 21 NHL players to reach 30 goals last season, and the second-oldest in that group behind Martin St. Louis, 39.
The Avs, who invested three years and $16 million in Iginla as a free agent July 1, hope he will continue to produce at a high level past age 40. Coach Patrick Roy named Iginla alternate captain Wednesday, replacing Paul Stastny, and cited Iginla’s three-year contract to back up why he chose him instead of one of his young stars such as Matt Duchene, Erik Johnson or Ryan O’Reilly.
“We thought that, with the experience Jarome has, (and that) he’s going to be here three years, he’s certainly going to help our young guys,” Roy said.
Iginla is playing right wing on the Duchene-centered line with former Calgary teammate Alex Tanguay. Iginla served as the Flames’ captain for nine years. He played briefly for the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2012-13 and for the Boston Bruins last season.
Iginla’s 44 combined goals over the past two seasons is more than what Duchene, O’Reilly or any other Avs player produced during the same span, which includes the lockout-shortened season of 2013.
“Jarome is a tremendous player and looking better and better each day. I think he’s going to have a huge year,” Duchene said. “A lot of people have wondered or asked if he’s lost a step because he’s getting older. I don’t see it. I think he’s just as good as he’s been the last few years, dating back to when he was with Calgary and we’d play him all the time.”
Iginla struggled at times in the preseason, but the Avs’ offense was unproductive throughout. He said he feels as good as he ever has.
“You need camp, but a couple weeks in, you can’t wait to get the regular season going,” Iginla said. “I feel really good for this time of year. It’s been fun trying to build chemistry with the guys.”
Iginla began playing on a line with 19-year-old Nathan Mac-Kinnon and Gabe Landeskog, 21, before Roy changed combinations last weekend.
“As a forward here, there’s a lot of depth, a lot of creative guys who do good things,” Iginla said. “Playing with Nate and Gabe before was exciting, and now I’m getting a chance with Dutchy and Tangs. Dutchy is quick, and you can just see his confidence grow and grow. And getting a chance to play with Tangs, I’ve been very fortunate to have played with him for a few years. He brings out the best in whoever he plays with.”
Landeskog, the Avs’ captain, said working with Iginla has been “a tremendous experience.” He said Iginla is cognizant about not “stepping on anybody’s toes.”
“It’s great having a guy like that around, a guy we all can really learn from,” Landeskog said.
Top signings
Denver Post hockey writer Mike Chambers picks his top unrestricted free agents signed over the summer:
Matt Niskanen, D, Capitals
Left Pittsburgh for a seven-year deal and $5.85 million annual cap hit. The Avs were among more than a dozen teams after him.
Ryan Miller, G, Canucks
Longtime Sabres star, a disappointment for St. Louis after the trade deadline last season, signed for three years, $6 million cap hit.
Jarome Iginla, RW, Avs
Some think the 37-year-old won’t be able to keep up over the duration of his three-year contract ($5.3 million cap hit), but the way he shoots and leads by example is rare.
Anton Stralman, D, Lightning
The Avs also went after Stralman, who was a big reason the New York Rangers made it to the Stanley Cup Finals last spring. Signed for five years, $4.5 million cap hit.
Paul Stastny, C, Blues
The Avs could have prevented this from happening, but the Blues knew they had to overpay ($28 million, four years) to lure him away from Colorado.
COLORADO AT MINNESOTA
7 p.m. Thursday, NBCSN; 950 AM, 104.3 FM
Spotlight on Darcy Kuemper: The Minnesota goalie beat the Avalanche in Games 2, 3 and 6 in the playoffs last spring before leaving with an injury in Game 7, which the Wild rallied to win 5-4 in overtime. Kuemper, 24, beat out Niklas Backstrom for the opening-night start. Backstrom is 11-3-1 at the Pepsi Center, so he’s a good bet to start in the home-and-home series finale Saturday.
NOTEBOOK
Avalanche: Forwards John Mitchell (head) and Patrick Bordeleau (back) were placed on injured reserve to get down to the 23-man roster limit Wednesday. The Avs have 22 available players on the trip (forward Jesse Winchester is not traveling while recovering from a concussion), and defensemen Zach Redmond and Ryan Wilson will probably be healthy scratches. … Jarome Iginla is the all-time leader against the Wild in points (67), goals (37), shots (236) and game-winning goals (10). … Goalie Semyon Varlamov will start Thursday and probably Saturday.
Wild: Former University of Denver standout Jason Zucker is playing left wing on Minnesota’s fourth line. … Stu Bickel and Justin Fontaine will be scratched. … Free-agent acquisition Thomas Vanek, who played at the University of Minnesota, is on the Wild’s second line with center Mikko Koivu and Matt Cooke. Minnesota’s first line features center Mikael Granlund between Zach Parise and Jason Pominville. … The top defensive pairing is Ryan Suter and Jonas Brodin. … Former Colorado College defenseman Nate Prosser is expected to be a healthy scratch.
Mike Chambers, The Denver Post
